Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 02:46, 13 December 2008

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (September 2008)

"A Public Affair" is the first single from Jessica Simpson's fourth studio album A Public Affair (2006). It features an interpolation of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".

Commercial release

The single debuted at number thirty-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, Simpson's second highest debut after "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". It had previously debuted at number twenty on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the twenty-five singles below the Hot 100's number 100 position that have not yet appeared on the Hot 100. Digital download sales were moderate until the release of the single's music video. In late July "A Public Affair" joined Ashlee Simpson's song "Invisible" in the top ten on the U.S. iTunes Music Store's list of most popular songs, the first time in iTunes history that two siblings had different songs in the top ten. "A Public Affair" peaked at number fourteen in its fifth week on the Hot 100, and is tied with "With You" and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for Simpson's second highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 after "I Wanna Love You Forever".

The single also reached the Top 20 in the United Kingdom in February 2007, at #20, and also reached the Top 10 in the UK Physical Chart, at #6. A Public Affair was certified Gold in US for obtaining more than 100,000 downloads.

The Yahoo! Music download of the song gained media attention because it was made available in MP3 format, without Digital Rights Management, which is normally used to restrict copying of commercially released singles. However, the price to download the song was $1.99, higher than the $0.99 norm for most DRM-restricted tracks. The increased price was rationalized not by the DRM-free format, but by offering users the ability to "personalize" the song with a specific name.

Music video

The song's music video was shot on June 23, 2006 and the late evening of June 24, 2006 at the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale, California. It features cameo appearances by Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Eva Longoria Parker, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick and Ryan Seacrest. It introduces Australian Reshad Strik, whose participation precipitated many comments on his resemblance to Nick Lachey, Simpson's ex-husband. The video was directed by Brett Ratner.

Yahoo! Launch had managed to make a "Fans Version Only" version of the video as well, which instantly reached number one.

On July 19, Simpson visited Total Request Live to world premiere the video.

The following day the video entered the TRL countdown at number six, the highest debut for any Simpson video; on its third day on the countdown, it reached number two.

The video spent a total of 28 days on the TRL countdown. Her most successful video to date on TRL. The video reached number eight on Canada's MuchMusic chart.

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine called the song's production "wildly adventurous" and "maddeningly catchy", and the song itself "A perfect record." Teen People called the song a fun, frothy dance track reminiscent of early Madonna; some in the media have criticized the unoriginality of the song because of its strong similarity to Madonna's "Holiday". The video has also been noted for being similar to Madonna's "Sorry" video.

"A Public Affair" was shortlisted for the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance but wasn't one of the final nominees, leaving Simpson still without a Grammy nomination or win.

Track listings and formats

• Australian CD single

1. "A Public Affair"
2. "A Public Affair"
3. "A Public Affair"

• US MAXI Single

1. "A Public Affair"
2. "A Public Affair"
3. "A Public Affair"
4. "A Public Affair"

• UK/German CD single

1. "A Public Affair"
2. "A Public Affair"

Remixes and other versions

• A Public Affair - 3:19
• A Public Affair - 3:15
• A Public Affair - 3:17
• A Public Affair - 3:14
• A Public Affair - 3:43
• A Public Affair - 5:47
• A Public Affair - 7:16
• A Public Affair - 3:48
• A Public Affair - 8:59
• A Public Affair - 5:50
• A Public Affair - 6:28
• A Public Affair - 9:2*
• A Public Affair - 7:49
• A Public Affair - 3:48

Release history

Charts

Notes

1. Clover Hope, "Furtado Remains No. 1 With 'Promiscuous'", July 6, 2006].
2. "Yahoo sells Jessica Simpson single sans DRM". CNET. Retrieved July 27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. "The Boots of Hazzard", The Sun, June 28, 2006.
4. Jonathan Cohen, "Simpson Owns Up To 'Public Affair'", Billboard.com, June 26, 2006.
5. "Nervous Simpson Debuts Video on Minnillo's Show", Contactmusic.com, July 20, 2006.
6. Popfusion - TRL Archive - July 2006.
7. Chuck Taylor, review of "A Public Affair", Billboard.com.
8. "Jessica Takes A "Holiday"?", TMZ.com, June 23, 2006.

• Misplaced Pages introduction cleanup from September 2008
• Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from September 2008
• 2000s pop songs
• 2006 singles
• Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one singles
• Dance-pop songs
• Jessica Simpson songs
• Songs that sample previously recorded songs